The Curse Keepers Collection (123 page)

David beamed down at me and took my hand. “Let’s go see everyone.” He walked past Allison, leading me through the entryway and a renovated kitchen. I gasped when we reached the open French doors leading into the backyard—although calling it a backyard was like calling the Atlantic Ocean a body of water. The steps led to a cobblestone patio that held about ten people, some standing, some sitting in chairs by a koi pond with a waterfall. Multiple flower beds surrounded the perimeter of the yard. It looked like something straight out of a decorating magazine.

“It’s gorgeous,” I said before I could stop myself.

“David did a wonderful job, didn’t he?” Allison asked from behind me. Then she sniffed and reached for a tissue. “He’s very gifted.”

I glanced up at him in awe. “
You
did this?”

His face reddened. “It was nothing.”

“This isn’t nothing, David.”

“I’m sure he misses puttering around since he moved into his rental house,” Allison said. “He tried to make up for it with all those pots, but it’s not the same.”

I turned toward her, unable to stop myself.

“We had just started dating when I mentioned I wanted to landscape my yard,” she went on. “He was eager to help. I teased him that he should have been a landscaper.” She cocked her head with a pensive look. “He got so much more accomplished after he moved in with me.”

My stomach dropped. He hadn’t told me that he and Allison had lived together.

David’s hand tightened around mine. “That was a long time ago.”

“It was only last summer,” Allison said in a smug tone.

“David!” called out one of the men on the patio. “Get over here and tell us how it’s going out in Manteo.”

David pulled me away from Allison and leaned down into my ear. “I had no idea she’d act this way. We can leave if you like.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I want to meet your other friends.”

The group of people turned to face us as we approached, and their genuine smiles helped soften the tension that was building in my shoulders.

A man in his thirties reached out his hand to David and pulled him into a hearty handshake. “Congrats on the Roanoke assignment.”

“Thanks,” David beamed.

“And who have you brought back with you?” the woman next to him asked.

David smiled down at me, then glanced back at her. “Cheryl, this is Ellie Lancaster. Ellie, Cheryl Dalton. Her husband, Noah, works in the English Department.” He gestured toward the man who had just greeted him.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” I said.

Cheryl grinned. “Noah might be asking about the colony, but what we really want to know is how you met Ellie. We hear it’s quite serious.”

The group of six people around us turned their attention to David.

“And who tells you that?” David asked, brushing off her question.

“Please.” She waved a hand. “Noah knows Charles Ditmore at Duke, who knows Steven Godfrey. When Steven came back from Roanoke Island, he told Charles that you found the lost colony
and
the love of your life.”

I shifted uncomfortably, but David wrapped an arm around my back and held me close. “I found a lot of surprises in Manteo.” He grinned down at me, setting me at ease. “But I’m sure everyone would love to hear more about the colony. Especially what’s been found in the Dare house.”

Someone brought two chairs and we sat while David and his friends spent the next ten minutes talking about the colony and the things that David had seen, before Allison walked over with a bottle of beer and a plastic cup. “Where are my manners? You two don’t have drinks yet.” She handed the bottle to David and the cup to me. I took it hesitantly, wondering if she’d done something to it.

She smiled, but I could see the bitterness in her gaze. “I made sure to have your favorite beer on hand, David. I wasn’t sure if Ellie was legal to drink, so I brought her lemonade.”

David stiffened next to me and started to say something, but I patted his arm. “Allison, how thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

Confusion flickered in her eyes and her mouth parted as if she wasn’t sure how to react. The group around us hushed, their expressions shocked.

After a couple of seconds, Allison’s smile returned. “David, the grill’s ready.” She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and wiped her nose. “I really need you to help out. I shouldn’t come into contact with raw meat with this runny nose.”

David glanced over at me, then back at Allison. “Ellie, why don’t you come over with me and I’ll teach you the fine art of grilling, something I’ve picked up since moving to North Carolina.”

Allison shot me a challenging look that said she firmly believed I couldn’t handle her on my own. I’d dealt with her kind before back in high school. For some reason, I’d expected better manners from a college professor. Well, I wasn’t about to back down. I could take demonic badgers. This bitch was nothing.

I leaned back in my chair and took a sip of my drink. “No, I think I’ll stay here and chat with the girls.”

David’s eyes widened, so I leaned over and placed a kiss on his mouth, lingering for a couple of seconds before brushing my mouth against his ear. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

He pulled back, worry in his eyes.

A smile spread across my face. “Make my steak medium-well.”

The guys in the group cast nervous looks between me and Allison and hopped up, following David to the grill. The four other women who’d been left behind looked as though they wished they could join them. Instead, we all settled in our chairs on the patio. I turned my attention to a woman who had been talking to David. “So, Trina, how long have you known David?”

She and the other women all told me how they’d met him. Trina was a professor of Native American studies, and the other three were married to professors David knew from the university.

After a while, there was a pause in the conversation and Allison leaned forward. “Don’t you want to know how I met David?”

I offered her my sweetest smile. “Of course.”

Sipping from her wine glass, she leaned to the side of her chair. “We met in the library. Penelope, the archivist there, was sure to introduce us.”

“I met Penelope this morning at the Wilson Library,” I said. “She seems very sweet.”

She gave me a conspiratorial grin. “She can be quite the matchmaker. She hooked up Trina and Phil too.”

Trina glanced over at the men and grinned. “She sure did.”

“David had been at Chapel Hill for over a year and Penelope thought he needed a girlfriend. He doesn’t cook very much, so she suggested I invite him over for a home-cooked meal. He protested that he didn’t want to be a bother, but he came over and then the next thing you know, we were dating.”

Trina narrowed her eyes. “I thought it was several months after you cooked for him before you two started dating.”

Allison shot Trina a glare, then turned her attention to me. “
In any case
, he moved in and helped me with this old house. He’s really quite handy.” She took a drink of her wine, watching me over the rim. “Like I said, he landscaped this entire backyard.”

“It’s very beautiful,” I said. “You’re lucky he shared his talent with you.” She wanted me to act like a jealous lover, but I wasn’t going to fall into her trap. For one thing, I wasn’t jealous. David had left her, not the other way around. If he wanted to be with her, he would. If anything, I felt sorry for her. David was a wonderful man, and I knew it had to be hard for her to see him with me. I didn’t appreciate her bitchiness, but I understood it.

I crossed my legs and smiled. “I hear that you’re a history professor. My parents and stepmother were all history majors. My father was the park ranger at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site for many years until he became ill. My mother died when I was a girl, but she was an archaeologist at the site and specialized in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century artifacts. Their names were John and Amanda Lancaster.” I tilted my head to the side. “Perhaps you’ve heard of them?”

“Your father was John Lancaster?” Trina asked in awe.

I nodded. “He was very passionate about the early colonies.”

“He’s a legend, but he had stopped lecturing by the time I started my undergraduate work. Do you know why?”

I pushed down my sorrow. “My mother’s death was hard on him and he found it difficult to leave me after that. I had no idea how respected he was in academia until I spoke with Steven while visiting the colony site.”

“You visited the site?” Trina asked.

“I did.” I told her my impressions of the reemerged colony and how hard it was seeing tiny baby Virginia’s skeleton in her cradle.

Allison shifted in her seat and I could tell she didn’t like that the conversation was steering away from her. “Allison, David said you specialize in weaponry from the Middle Ages. I’m curious about what prompted that interest.”

The color left her face. “David’s mentioned me?”

I took a sip of my lemonade. “Yes, very fondly.”

She eased back in her chair. “My parents and my older brother were participants in our local Renaissance festival. We spent every weekend in October there, and I became fascinated with it. But once I went to school, my passion turned to the Middle Ages. So much has been lost over the years, and I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of discovering lost things.”

“What happened with that exhibit you were invited to preview?” Trina asked, crossing her legs. “You were so excited to see it.”

Allison took a sip of her wine, then frowned. “I signed a nondisclosure agreement when I went to Charlotte. You know that.”

Trina leaned forward. “Come on. It’s
us
. Who are we going to tell? Did you see any Native American artifacts? I’m dying to know.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Allison’s mouth puckered as her gaze rotated to David before returning to her friend. “Yes, there were several.”

Trina waited for several seconds. “You can’t stop there. Tell us more.”

Allison shifted in her seat. “I’m really not supposed to tell anyone, but I agreed to tell David what I saw.” A wicked smile twisted her lips. “Well, I guess you two work in the same department and share information anyway . . . ”

I was sure an attorney would be able to point out any number of flaws in her logic, but Trina’s face beamed with excitement.

“You know I don’t know much about Native American weaponry, but I can tell you that there were multiple spears that looked to be quite old based on the warping of the shafts. There was also a large collection of arrowheads and ax heads.”

“We all know you were asked to examine something else,” Trina prompted.

“There was a large collection of pocket watches. One was identical to the watch in the photo David sent to all of us weeks ago. It’s really quite a find. I’m amazed there are two in existence.”

“Allison,” Cheryl said. “You said you were invited to see something that you were sure would provide the source for your next paper. Stop being so mysterious. Did you see it?”

For the first time since she started spilling details about the collection, Allison looked hesitant. “Now, that I’m
really
not supposed to talk about. Not yet anyway.”

The woman turned her attention to me. “Ellie, why is David so eager to find out about a bunch of English pocket watches and swords?”

My eyes widened in dismay. I hadn’t planned on having to answer questions about the Ricardo Estate. I shook my head while my tongue stumbled for an explanation. “I . . . David . . . since the majority of the colony site is composed of English artifacts, he’s found a new appreciation for them. In fact, the majority of Manteo’s hut consists of English items.”

Allison frowned. “Then what on earth is he still doing there? He’s a professor of Native American studies.”

Trina rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so shortsighted, Allison. David’s studying Manteo’s residence. What’s actually in there is less important than the fact that Manteo lived there. And even if some of his things are English in origin, they must still say a lot about how he lived his life.” Her eyebrows rose. “Am I right, Ellie?”

“Uh . . . yeah.” I never could have come up with that answer in a million years. I owed Trina big. But if Allison was willing to discuss the collection, I wanted to get as much information out of her as I could. “So did you see anything else that was particularly interesting?”

She cocked her head to the side.

“Well, did you?” Trina asked.

“Yes.” She licked her lower lip and grabbed the arm of her chair, looking nervous. “But if the Guardians find out . . . ”

The blood rushed from my head. “Did you say the Guardians?”

Allison’s face paled and she stood. “I’ve said too much. I’ve never been good at keeping secrets. I better go check on the baked beans.”

Allison hurried into the house. I was dying to tell David our new information, but he was deep in conversation with his friends. This could wait a few minutes.

“Wow. That was weird,” Trina said, watching Allison slip through the kitchen door.

Cheryl cast a glance from me to Trina. “She’s been out of sorts since she started planning tonight’s get-together.”

Everyone was quiet and I shifted in my seat, wondering if I should get up and check on David, when one of the women addressed Trina in a serious tone. “The campus police say there hasn’t been any trouble here, but they’re being extra vigilant.”

My attention perked up. “Why would the campus police need to be vigilant?”

The three of them were quiet for a long moment, and then Trina spoke up. “There have been some missing person reports in Durham. Duke students.”

“Missing?”

“Yeah, three in the last two weeks.”

“Just students?” I asked, suddenly worried about Myra. What if some of the spirits had followed Myra to Durham? What if they went after her to make me suffer? “No professors? My stepmother just took a position there.”

“No.” Trina shook her head. “Two guys and a girl, all students. Just vanished.”

“And the police have no idea what happened?”

“Not a clue. But I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. Your stepmother will be just fine.”